A Narrative of Some Passages in the History Eenoolooapik

Published in 1841, this is the story of Eenoolooapik, a young Inuit who guided whaling captain William Penny to the mouth of Cumberland Sound - a whale-rich body of water - 250 years after it was first explored and named by John Davis. Probably the first Inuk for whom a biography was published during his lifetime, 'Eenoo' drew a map which led Penny to the whaling area. His geographical knowledge therefore resulted in a burgeoning industry that provided seasonal employment to the Inuit and dramatically changed their lives. Alexander M'Donald (1817–48) describes Eenoolooapik's life and environment, a visit to Scotland with Penny (where he endeared himself to the people he met), and the difficulties he encountered in making the transition from life in the Arctic to nineteenth-century Britain. M'Donald himself later worked as an assistant surgeon on H.M.S. Terror in Sir John Franklin's last expedition: his eventual fate is not known.